THAT GIRL: Alisa Vitti

“You can’t do good if you don’t feel good,” says integrative nutritionist Alisa Vitti. It is a powerful mantra that Alisa herself has lived. Alisa is the founder of FLOliving, a virtual health care center designed to help women experiencing menstrual, libido, and fertility challenges safely and effectively balance out their hormonal system through a personalized plan of diet and nutrition. Alisa’s breakthrough with FLOliving came from her own health challenges that included obesity, exhaustion, depression, and inconsistent menstrual patterns. Her educational and professional background coupled with her own medical odyssey and a keen awareness that all women deserve to experience joy and comfort in their lived bodies, led her to develop this revolutionary system. Alisa’s work has been featured on Dr. Oz, at TEDx talks, Talks@Google and on the CBS Morning Show as well as in many renowned print and web outlets such as Shape and Huffington Post. Her book, The WomanCode, based on the proven principles that comprise the FLOliving program and geared toward all women interested in naturally regulating their hormonal rhythms, launched this spring. When she is not changing the course of women’s reproductive wellness, Alisa makes sure to nurture her own health and well-being with long walks through New York’s Central Park, yoga sessions with good friends, and dinners prepared with her husband.

If you could describe yourself in three words, what would those words be?

Committed, Fascinated, Optimistic. I believe we can do things that make a difference!

Tell us about a girl in your life who rocks.

My mom right now. She’s someone who chooses happiness in the face of stress, she creates an environment around her of nurturing, fun, and she’s a good hang; I enjoy spending time with her.

What are your dreams/goals/ambitions?

Right now I’m in a place of assessing what’s next. My goal is to have the experience of getting to the next set of goals, to be even more magical, collaborative, and to work with diff types of people. I have more books I want to write, more products I want to launch. And I want to keep changing women’s health care and bring it into the twenty-first century.

What are you most proud of?

I’m proud of the fact that I’ve really fallen in love with myself. I do not see myself as this never ending project to be worked on—for many women, it’s “never enough”-- but I’m proud of the fact that I’m a person I can be proud of. I have things that I believe in, I go after creating those things, I speak my truth, I take really good care of myself, I stop when I need to stop. I’m curating a life that I really love. I am proud of that.

What piece of advice changed your life?

There are a couple of pieces: The first is, feel the fear and do it anyway. That is really important at the beginning of any endeavor. I realized you know you’re on the right track when you’re scared most of the time, that’s good to remind yourself in the middle, as in where I am right now, having achieved something that’s important. The second is, make your own path. You have to figure out how to keep breaking through for yourself and not worrying about what other people are doing, not measuring yourself or your success against others’ success. Those are the two guiding pieces of advice I lean into.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In ten years I will have continued adding to the conversation of women’s health care, to have created more products that help women feel good all month long. I’ll be in a position to help other women’s start-up organizations, and I’ll be able to have a life that is rich with a happy home, really amazing community of friends and colleagues, and lot’s of time for adventures.

What is the number one item on your bucket list?

I don’t have a bucket list, I say yes to things. Twelve years ago a bunch of friends wanted to go to India for two months to visit a zen master. I was scared, but I said yes, let’s do it because it’s happening now. Life is an interactive experience, why wait? What are you waiting for? Whenever opportunities come up, take advantage of them because they may be the only time they will come through. I don’t do bucket, I do “yes-ing!”

Who has been the biggest female influence in your life and why?

I had a real big eye opening moment when I was 20, taking a woman’s studies class. Prior to that moment I had no consciousness about women’s issue, and when I first go exposed to that information about all the different ways in which women’s experiences differed in the world, in a male-dominated culture, it broke my heart wide open. That’s when I fell in love with being a woman. I’m part of THIS group, I come from THESE people. For generations and centuries women have been finding ways to thrive and to fight obstacles, and I find that incredibly inspiring. I realized simultaneously in that moment that because I just happen to be born in the United States in this decade that I was afforded a lot of luxuries that no prior generation of women anywhere else had been afforded. I felt immediately inspired by the privilege and responsibility to take that seriously and live an inspired and empowered life as an agent of change. Being female is the biggest influence in my life. Once you really get present to how awesome and awe-inspiring it is to be female and to own the legacy of all that came before you, you just want to take all you have and try to do good in the world because the world needs it.

What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken and what did you learn from it?

Starting my business at a young age—I opened the doors when I was 24--and switching gears from traditional med to functional medicine, starting a clinical practice in midtown Manhattan were all big risks. What I still learn is that there’s nothing like being an entrepreneur to keep your feet to the fire of personal development. What I keep learning every day is that you don’t need to know how it’s all going to work out. All you can do is focus on what’s in front of you. The more you focus on what’s in front of you, the more you feel confident you can make anything happen, you stretch farther from your risk taking. I learn every day that it’s a much longer journey than we think it’s going to be. I’m at a new beginning in a lot of ways and am constantly trying something new, evaluating the lessons, re-inventing my game plan to see what’s next in the journey. These risks have taught me all the best weapons in life: There is nothing in life that isn’t going to come with a little bit of clay, stress work, and magic. Recognizing you’re part of the process and you don’t control that process is really important.

Why are you THAT GIRL?

THAT GIRL, to me is all about women feeling confident that they can be something, say something, do something, and not let any fear or insecurity get in the way. I’m THAT GIRL for the same reasons. I’ve spent the past 15 years of my life dedicated to my personal well-being and that has afforded me the privilege of caretaking thousands of women worldwide and their ovaries, to help them think about what they can use their one precious life for. You can’t do good if you don’t feel good; you have to live in your body AS a woman if you’re going to be able to create through your life. I’m THAT GIRL because I’ve learned how to do that, and I get to help other women to learn how to do that.

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I am perfectly flawed and sublimely beautyFULL. I am a constant work in progress. I recognize that what I admire in others also exists within myself. As a member of this community, I promise to collaborate instead of compete and remind other girls of their worth when they've forgotten. I'm on a mission to turn self-doubt in to self-love, to use my voice, to share my truth, to love others, and to leave this world better than I found it.